So yesterday, we were talking pinwheels. Blah blah blah handle them. You got it. Let’s move on, to one with a teeter totter.
You can guess where this is going.
Leslie McDevitt posted a comment here the other day. She said create a pattern where he chooses to put the pressure of moving towards it. Does him running across the field, just dying to get on count? Rad! Right on! Go Goo.
Have I told you recently I hate agility? Because it is hard to love something that you so totally, completely suck at. Or maybe it’s easy, but I am just not coming to grips with this. GodDAMN. Another lifestyle that goes awry, turns out to be a bad idea, and just ends up in the crapper. Like baking a bundt cake. Remember how THAT little escapade turned out?
You know how much I love my dogs? As much as Antartica. Australia. Antartica and Australia and every single Ikea parking lot in the universe combined and add about a trillion. That much.
And then agility, wee hee, all fun and then eventually, total suckazoid bummer, man.
Because Gustavo is an awesome dog. He is sweet and he likes to run and he sits on my lap and we like to play with a dirty terry cloth tube and he loves everyone.
And then it’s like, Oh, hey buddy. Learn this agility, K? Thanks! You’ll LOVE it.
Well, most of it. He was dog who loves agility! Loves everything. Love love love love love.
And then it’s just like issue issue issue issue.
And all my friends are all champion champion champion champion.
And I’m all why why why why why.
I'm feeling rather philosophical right about now. (I'm also procrastinating working on a project that is due in about 1 hour). What has kept me doing this sport?
Tazz is 5 years old. At two years old I started showing him. I got a jumpers Q at his first trial and I thought the high would never end. Well that was short lived.
At his second trial (while my friend was on her way to getting her ADCH), he avoided going on the A frame and six months later I FINALLY could get him back on an A frame in competition.
Around 3 years old still in advanced, he had a meltdown on a teeter. 2 months later he would do a teeter ANYWHERE except in competition. That took another five or six months.
At four it was finally comming together. It only took two years (my friend was working on her second ADCH) and he was getting Q's (maybe one or two a weekend). Each Q was like taking drugs. THEN, table phobia.
Meanwhile, I have Rocky and Maddie at home. Maddie would NEVER run at a trial. Practice, fine as long as the moon lined up perfectly with Mars…but get those two out of alignment and she would act as if I beat her.
Rocks has the will, but physically he is not built for agility, and mentally he believes that all other dogs are evil. Not a good combination. I couldn't keep him sound.
And people wonder why I have four dogs.
Fin is my fourth try. I feel so grateful to the Gods of Agility for bestowing on me a dog that actually likes the sport.
I'm not saying keep collecting dogs until you find a dog that likes agility. Tazz at 5 years is still doing agility whether he likes it or not. I'm dragging him into that ring!
I guess I'm saying, I can relate. Many of us can. It isn't something you are doing or not doing and it certainly does not define you as a trainer. What defines you as a trainer is persistance towards a goal.
Whether Goo does the teeter isn't what defines success. It is the long term process. The fact that you struggle, share it with the world, and eventually succeed, that is what defines you as a trainer.
Most trainers hide the bumps in the road. All you see is the result. It is infinitely more interestings to watch the journey.
That's a very thoughtful comment.
I guess the persistence towards the goal thing. Like how come I am dragging these poor dogs along on this whole goal thing?
Like it was good for Ruby to do agility. It turned her into a dog, it took her from feral and weird and aggressive thing into beautiful citizen of the universe. Maybe crippled her somewhere along the way, but maybe that would have happened anyways. Who knows.
It was good for Otterpop. Gives her an outlet for brain usage towards something constructive and she thinks it is super fun (ahem, at practice at least) and keeps her out of trouble. Maybe completely bums out her whole existence by going to dog shows too, who knows.
It was good for Gustavo because he thinks it is fun to run! And get some treats! And play! Develop some thoughts in his little furry mind of not so many thoughts. And I try to never go past his level. When there are now these not so fun parts but I'm trying to keep them oh so fun and stay at his level but he's like, huh? Uh, goals? Hey Gustavo, goals and persistence in training and he's all, are we running now?
And I'm all goddamn ADCh. Maybe this is like a yoga buddhist mind exercise for me. This is sort of a reoccurring pattern of a lot of things in my life (like HI all my famous artist friends having your museum art shows right now!) and I'm supposed to be learning something. Oh hell.
What we need are those dog-language translator collars like in "Up", then we could know exactly what they're trying to say. Like, Gustavo could be doing the teeter saying "Ooooh, fun!" and then you could do it again and he could be saying, like, "Ooooh, scarey!" and you could say "Why, Gustavo, Why why why?" and then he could say "Oh, look, maggots!" It would be so helpful!
And P.S. all my friends are world team members in addition to having ADCH platinum twice over plus MACH-93. Yeah makes me feel great when Boost is 4 and a half and can't get her MAD.
And P.P.S. my Word Verification word is "ednesser" which seems somehow important and relevant but I'm not sure why.
I wish I could write like you. I wish I didn't feel like you.
Actually, today I DO NOT FEEL LIKE YOU!!! MY dog is all MAD LOVE about the teeter now. Teeter Parties scheduled every day for the next two weeks. Driving an hour today for a Teeter Party. Should be home mowing my yard or weed wacking my fence line.
Hmmm, my pasture needs mowing, my horse's hooves need trimming, I just had to buy underwear online (can't take the time to shop, I have too many Teeter Parties to attend!) because I don't have time to do laundry, just ate a fluff sandwich cuz I don't have time to go food shopping and fluff is all I have in the house. Does CA have Fluff? When I lived in Sacramento we had to have it sent from the East Coast.
I do this agility because it's FUN??? Oh yeah, it's fun – it's fun having nothing to eat but Fluff and having to buy new underwear and watching the weeds grow in the pasture.
Ok, this is scary. My verification word is caltals. What does THAT mean?
I like Ellens idea. I think Tazz would say, "This whole weaving thing? Yea, like it is way to easy. And that teeter totter, I'm not sure that I look cool playing on a kiddie toy. Where's my motivation? Makeup! I need Makeup? That camera angle is NOT showing my best side. I just can't work with that damn tarp making the flapping sound! Get that dog out of my site…why is that dog walking in my shot? Where's lunch for christ sake!"
Hmmmmm. Why do I continue? I guess it is because it gives me something to do with the dogs, I get to hang out with cool people, every once in a while it all comes together, and, oh yeah…I'm somewhat of a nut job and I think that in the end my dogs actually like it and that I am going to get an ADCH.
PS: right now, if I could get one master gamble and two standards on Tazzie, I would be forever grateful and never say another bad thing about anyone ever again, eat all my veggies, volunteer more, and darn it, not make fun of women in skorts!
PS: Now my validation word is corkin… just corkin along feeling fine…
Do we have fluff in CA? Is that the stuff you make fudge out of made of marshmellows? Or is that something entirely different? I don't think I have ever had a sandwich of that though.
YES, I think! I can't imagine making fudge with it, but I do think it can be done. Marshmallowfluff.com is GREAT stuff. Alone in a sandwich is kind of boring, I usually have peanut butter and fluff.
Now I know why I returned to the East Coast. You on the West Coast aren't SURE what Fluff is???
Peanut butter and fluff is a staple.